Electric load center

ABSTRACT

An electrical load center for residential and commercial buildings includes an enclosure, a cover assembly, and a panelboard. The panelboard includes an insulated base, first and second bus bars, each of the first and second bus bars having an elongated main member, a plurality of connecting members, each of which is integrally formed from an edge of the main member, and a plurality of conducting members integrally formed from each of the connecting members. The panelboard further includes at least one neutral bar. The neutral bar is preferably I-shaped and includes a generally vertical main body, and transverse upper and lower members. The transverse upper member is preferably thicker than the transverse lower member and includes an outward taper from a top surface to a bottom of the transverse upper member to provide a greater contact surface area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/402,337 filed Jan. 10, 2017, the entire contents of which isincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to electric load centers, and moreparticularly, to an improved electric load center and its components.

BACKGROUND

Residential and commercial buildings typically have an electric loadcenter to provide electrical circuit control and overcurrent protection.Generally, the electric load centers currently available in the marketinclude an enclosure, a panelboard installed within the enclosure, and acover assembly configured to cover the enclosure. In the electric loadcenter of the present invention, the panelboard is constructed tooptimize power distribution to various branch circuits for lighting,electrical outlets, etc. Specifically, the bus bars mounted onto thepanelboard are constructed to optimize current carrying capacity whileengaging with the circuit breakers. Additionally, in the presentinvention, the neural bars included in the panelboard are designed andconfigured to allow the circuit breakers to be easily plugged onto orpulled off from the neutral bars.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an electrical loadcenter includes an enclosure having an open front, a cover configured tobe placed over the open front of the enclosure, and a panelboard adaptedto be installed within the enclosure. The panelboard includes aninsulated base having front and rear surfaces, first and second busbars, each of the first and second bus bars having an elongated mainmember extending between top and bottom opposing ends, a plurality ofconnecting members, each of which is integrally formed from an edge ofthe main member, and a plurality of conducting members integrally formedfrom a bottom edge of each of the connecting members, and at least oneneutral bar, the at least one neutral bar having a generally verticalmain body having first and second ends, and transverse upper and lowermembers integrally connected and separated by the main body, wherein thetransverse upper member is thicker than the transverse lower member, andwherein the upper transverse member of the neutral bar includes anoutward taper from a top surface of the transverse upper member to abottom surface of the transverse upper member.

These and other aspects of the present invention will be betterunderstood in view of the drawings and following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric load center, according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the enclosure of the electric loadcenter in FIG. 1, with the panelboard having main lugs installedtherewithin;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the enclosure in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the enclosure in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the enclosure in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an enclosure, according to anotherembodiment;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an electric load center with a coveradapted to be secured to the enclosure in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the panelboard in FIG. 2, configured tobe installed in a vertical orientation;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the panelboard in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the panelboard in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the bus bar in FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the bus bar in FIG. 8;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the bus bar in FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the neutral bar in FIG. 2;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the neutral bar in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a side view of the neutral bar in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a front view of the neutral bar in FIG. 14, with a neutralclip of a circuit breaker engaged therewith;

FIG. 18 is a front view of a panelboard with a main breaker installed inthe enclosure in FIG. 3;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a panelboard, according to anotherembodiment, configured to be installed in a horizontal orientation;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the cover assembly in FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the electric load center in FIG. 1,with the cover assembly in a closed position;

FIG. 22 is a partial view of the door in FIG. 20, with a latch mountedthereon; and

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the latch in FIG. 22.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to FIGS.1 and 2, there is shown an electric load center 10 adapted to distributepower to various branches (lighting, electrical outlets, etc.). Theelectric load center 10 includes an enclosure 12, a panelboard 14designed and configured to be installed within the enclosure 12, and acover assembly 16 configured to cover the enclosure 12 to provideprotection for various interior components installed therewithin. Inaddition, the cover assembly 16 is constructed to provide access tocircuit breakers 18 that are mounted onto the panelboard 14. The circuitbreakers 18 provide electrical circuit control and overcurrentprotection for residential and commercial buildings if certainundesirable electrical conditions occur.

Directional terms, such as top, bottom, side, and back are referenced toan orientation in which the load center 10 is mounted on a wall suchthat the cover assembly 16 faces forwards. However, the presentinvention is not thereby limited to use in any particular orientation.

Referring to FIGS. 3-5, there is shown the enclosure 12 to house andprotect various interior components such as the panelboard 14 andcircuit breakers 18. The enclosure 12 is a generally rectangular shaped(box-like) housing having an open front 20. The enclosure 12 includesopposed top and bottom walls 22, 24, opposed first and second side walls26, 28, and a back wall 29 extending between the opposed walls 22, 24,26, 28. Thus, the opposed top and bottom walls 22, 24 are separated bythe back wall 29. The opposed first and second side walls 26, 28 arealso separated by the back wall 29.

The top and bottom walls 22, 24, and the first and second side walls 26,28 are integrally connected to the back wall 29 and extend laterallyupward therefrom such that the top, bottom, and side walls 22, 24, 26,28 are substantially perpendicular to the back wall 29. The walls 22,24, 26, 28, 29 of the enclosure 12 cooperatively define an enclosurevolume 30 for holding various interior components.

The enclosure 12 further includes a plurality of inturned members orflanges 32, which are integrally formed from the top, bottom, and sidewalls 22, 24, 26, 28 of the enclosure 12 such that they are disposed ontop of the walls 22, 24, 26, 28, as illustrated in FIG. 4. A pluralityof cover mounting holes 34 extend through each inturned member 32 atopposing ends thereof such that they are positioned at each corner ofthe enclosure 12.

Referring again to FIGS. 3-5, a plurality of knockouts 38 are definedand stamped onto each of the walls 22, 24, 26, 28, 29 of the enclosure12 to provide a convenient method of creating knockout openings thereonto allow routing of electrical wires not shown to and from the enclosure12. The plurality of knockouts 38 are constructed as multiple ringknockouts to provide various sizes for the knockout openings on theenclosure 12. The plurality of knockouts 38 may be removed prior tomounting the enclosure 12 to a wall by striking thereon with a tool suchas a screwdriver.

The back wall 29 of the enclosure 12 includes a plurality of panelboardmounting apertures 40, through which a panelboard mounting stud 42 ofthe panelboard 14 is inserted to mount the panelboard 14 to the backwall 29 of the enclosure 12, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The plurality ofpanelboard mounting apertures 40 and the panelboard mounting stud 42 aredimensioned such that the panelboard mounting stud 42 may be passedfreely through each panelboard mounting aperture 40. In addition, aplurality of panelboard mounting holes 44 are defined on the back wall29 of the enclosure 12, through which a fastener, such as a screw, isinserted to secure the panelboard 14 to the back wall 29 of theenclosure 12.

For mounting the enclosure 12 to a wall, a plurality of enclosuremounting holes 46 and a plurality of keyholes 48 are defined on the backwall 29. The plurality of keyholes 48 allow an easy installation of theload center 10 onto a wall since an installer can preinstall screws inthe wall, which can be placed through the larger part of the keyhole tosupport the weight of the load center 10 while applying the remainingfasteners through the plurality of enclosure mounting holes 46 to securethe enclosure 12 to a wall.

It will be appreciated that other designs and configurations could beused for the enclosure, as deemed suitable for given applicationfactors. For example, referring to FIG. 6, in an alternative embodiment,an enclosure 202 includes inturned members 204, 206 that are integrallyformed from top and bottom walls 208, 210 and disposed on top thereof.Each of the inturned members 204, 206 includes a cover mounting hole 212through which a fastener, such as a screw, is inserted to affix a cover214 (illustrated in FIG. 7), adapted to enclose an open front of theenclosure 202.

The enclosure 12, 202 is made of one or more materials having suitableproperties for a desired application, including strength, weight,rigidity, etc. Steel, such as galvanized steel, is generally preferred.

Referring to FIGS. 8-10, in the depicted embodiment, the panelboard 14is a main lug panelboard for directly connecting incoming electricalcables (not shown) to first and second lugs 49, 51, which are inelectrical communication with the first and second bus bars 56, 58,respectively. The panelboard 14 is designed and configured to beinstalled in a vertical orientation and various types of circuitbreakers can be mounted thereon, such as plug-on-neutral circuitbreakers, arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI), etc. These circuitbreakers are constructed to be able to mechanically and electricallyplug onto the panelboard 14.

The panelboard 14 preferably includes an insulated base 50 having afront surface 52 and a rear surface 54, first and second bus bars 56, 58adapted to be mounted onto the base 50, and first and second neutralbars 60, 62. The first and second neutral bars 60, 62 are positionedadjacent to the first and second bus bars 56, 58, respectively, suchthat they are located along the left-hand and right-hand side of theenclosure 12, as shown in FIG. 9.

A plurality of base studs 64 are integrally formed from the base 50 ofthe panelboard 14, which align with a plurality of bus bar openings 66defined on each of the bus bars 56, 58 such that the bus bars 56, 58 canbe seated and abutted directly on the front surface 52 of the base 50.Once the bus bars 56, 58 are placed onto the base 50 with the pluralityof base studs 64 extending through each corresponding bus bar opening66, the plurality of base studs 64 are deformed using a staking methodto secure the bus bars 56, 58 to the panelboard 14 to prevent them frombeing separated from the panelboard 14. In addition, a plurality of baseneutral bar studs 67 are integrally formed from the base 50 of thepanelboard 14, which align with a plurality of neutral bar openings 69defined on each of the neutral bars 60, 62 such that the neutral bars60, 62 can be seated and abutted directly on the front surface 52 of thebase 50. Similar to the bus bars 56, 58, the plurality of base neutralbar studs 67 are deformed using a staking method to secure the neutralbars 60, 62 to the panelboard 14 to prevent them from being separatedfrom the panelboard 14.

As stated above, the panelboard 14 is mounted on the base wall 29 of theenclosure 12 via the panelboard mounting stud 42 and the plurality ofpanelboard mounting holes 44. Once the panelboard 14 is mounted anddisposed within the enclosure 12, the front surface 52 of the base 50 ofthe panelboard 14 is directed away from the back wall 29 of theenclosure 12, and the rear surface 54 of the base 50 of the panelboard14 abuts the back wall 29 of the enclosure 12.

Referring to FIGS. 11-13, each of the bus bars 56, 58 is preferably ametallic strip that conducts electricity and serves as a commonconnection for the circuit breakers 18 to distribute electricity. In thedepicted embodiment, the bus bars 56, 58 are arranged to engage with thecircuit breakers 18 in vertical rows on left and right sides of thepanelboard 14. Each of the bus bars 56, 58 includes an elongated mainmember 68 extending between top and bottom opposing ends 70, 72 and aplurality of connecting members 74, each of which are integrally formedfrom the main member 68. Specifically, the plurality of connectingmembers 74 extend laterally from an edge 76 of the main member 68 andare uniformly spaced apart at a predetermined interval across the entirelength of the main member 68. In addition, a plurality of conductingmembers 78 are integrally formed from a bottom edge 80 of each of theconnecting members 74 and extend laterally upward therefrom. Thus, eachof the plurality of conducting members 78 is substantially perpendicularto corresponding connecting member 74 and top surface of the main member68. Each of the conducting members 78 is configured to engage with thecircuit breaker 18, such that it connects the circuit breaker 18 to thecurrent carrying bus bar.

A lower portion of each of the plurality of conducting members 78 isintegrally connected to the main member 68 via a connecting portion 84,which is deformed and stretched when the conducting members 78 areformed by bending, as shown in FIG. 11. The integrally formed bent,stretched and deformed connecting portion 84 optimizes the cross-sectionbetween the conducting member 78 and the main member 68, therebyincreasing the current carrying capacity during engagement with thecircuit breaker 18. In addition, the bent and deformed connectingportion 84 prevents electrical creepage between current-carrying partsand also prevents heat generated from the bus bars 56, 58. Additionally,the connecting members 74 of the bus bar 56, 58 are a continuous wedgeshape without any recesses or cutouts which have been used in the past.By providing a continuous connecting member 74, a weak area subject tooverheating and potential failure is avoided and optimized connect flowis achieved. Thus, the transition from the main member 68 to theconnecting portion 84 provides maximum current carrying capacity bymaintaining the integrity of the current carrying material.

The plurality of bus bar openings 66 are defined on each of the bus bars56, 58, as described above, and are uniformly spaced apart at apredetermined interval across the entire length of the main member 68 ofeach of the bus bars 56, 58. Each of the bus bars 56, 58 furtherincludes a lug connecting aperture 88 defined at the top end 70 thereof,through which a fastener is inserted to mechanically and electricallyconnect the first and second lugs 49, 51 to the first and second busbars 56, 58, respectively, to distribute electricity, as shown in FIG.9.

Referring to FIGS. 14-17, the neutral bars 60, 62 are designed andconfigured to optimize engagement with a neutral clip 90 of the circuitbreaker 18. Each of the neutral bars 60, 62 is elongated andsubstantially I-shaped, and includes a generally vertical main body 94having first and second ends 96, 98, and transverse upper and lowermembers 100, 102 integrally connected and separated by the main body 94.The transverse upper and lower members 100, 102 are disposed at firstand second ends 96, 98 of the main body 94, respectively, and aresubstantially perpendicular to the main body 94. Each of the neutralbars 60, 62 includes a plurality of neutral bar apertures 104 andmatching neutral bar connecting screws 106 along the entire length ofeach of the neutral bars 60, 62.

As can be seen from FIG. 15, the transverse upper member 100 of each ofthe neutral bars 60, 62 is thicker than the transverse lower member 102of each of the neutral bars 60, 62. This design of the transverse uppermember 100 provides a greater contact area for engagement of the neutralbar 60, 62 with a breaker neutral clip 90 to enhance current carryingcapacity. In addition, the upper transverse member 100 of the neutralbar 60, 62 includes an outward taper from a top surface 108 of thetransverse upper member 100 to a bottom surface 110 of the transverseupper member 100 at an angle A, preferably 4 degrees with respect to they-axis, to allow the neutral clip 90 of the circuit breaker 18 to exertgreater clamping forces against the transverse upper member 100, asshown in FIG. 17.

In the present disclosure, the bus bar 56, 58 and the neutral bar 60, 62are designed and configured such that the circuit breaker 18 can bemechanically plugged onto or pulled off from the bus bar 56, 58 and theneutral bar 60, 62 by movement in one linear axial direction, i.e.,perpendicular to the base 50 of the panelboard 14. For example, thecircuit breaker 18 may be mounted on the panelboard 14 by pushingopposing sides of the circuit breaker 18 simultaneously, causing aconnector (not shown) of the circuit breaker 18 to engage with theconducting member 78 of the bus bar 56, 58 and the neutral clip 90 ofthe circuit breaker 18 to engage with the transverse upper member 100 ofthe neutral bar 56, 58. Once mounted on the panelboard 14, the circuitbreaker 18 may be separated therefrom by pulling the circuit breaker 18from opposing sides thereof simultaneously, causing the circuit breaker18 to disengage from the bus bar 56, 58 and the neutral bar 60, 62.

Referring again to FIGS. 8 and 9, the panelboard 14 further includes alug stabilizer 116, which is disposed around the first and second lugs49, 51 to stabilize and prevent rotation of the lugs 49, 51.Specifically, the lug stabilizer 116 is an integrally formed bridgewhich is installed immediately above the top edge of the base 50 of thepanelboard 14 such that the first and second lugs 49, 51 are closelyaccommodated within first and second grooves 118, 120 of the lugstabilizer 116. The grooves 118, 120 are formed by a plurality of lugstabilizer walls 122 extending perpendicularly upward from a base 124 ofthe lug stabilizer 116. A lug stabilizer mounting hole 126 is defined onthe base 124 of the lug stabilizer 116, through which a fastener, suchas a screw, rivet, or nail, could be inserted to secure the lugstabilizer 116 to the base wall 29 of the enclosure 12.

Referring to FIG. 18, in an alternate embodiment, a load center 310includes a panelboard 312 with a main breaker 314. The main breaker 314provides a means to manually disconnect power from the load center 310and overcurrent protection. In the load center 310, incoming electricitysupply cables (not shown) are connected to lugs 316 located below themain breaker 314.

Referring to FIG. 19, in an alternate embodiment, the panelboard 414 isdesigned and configured to be installed in a horizontal orientation. Inthe depicted embodiment, bus bars 416, 418 and a neutral bar 420 arearranged along a top portion of the panelboard 414 and a bottom portionof the panelboard 414, respectively, to engage with circuit breakers ina horizontal row. The bus bars 416, 418 and the neutral bar 420 areidentical to the bus bars 56, 58 and the neutral bars 60, 62 describedin the previous embodiment where the panelboard 14 is configured to beinstalled in a vertical orientation.

The bus bars 56, 58, 416, 418 and neutral bars 60, 62, 420 are made ofone or more materials having suitable properties for a desiredapplication, including strength, weight, rigidity, etc. Preferably, eachof the bus bars 56, 58, 416, 418 is made out of an electricallyconductive material, such as aluminum. In addition, each of the bus bars56, 58, 416, 418 may be constructed with a single sheet of metal, whichcan be cut, bent, stretched and deformed to make the shape illustratedin FIG. 11.

Referring to FIG. 20, the cover assembly 16 is configured to be mountedover the open front 20 of the enclosure 12 to cover and protect interiorcomponents disposed within the enclosure 12. The cover assembly 16 alsoprovides an access to each of the circuit breakers 18 installed withinthe enclosure 12.

The cover assembly 16 includes a trim panel 128 having a door aperture130, a recessed portion 132 coupled to the trim panel 128, and a door134 hingedly connected to the trim panel 128. The cover assembly 16 isattached to the enclosure 12 from the open front 20 thereof withfasteners, such as screws. Specifically, the trim panel 128 is placedover the open front 20 of the enclosure 12 such that the plurality ofcover mounting holes 34 of the inturned members or flanges 32 align witha plurality of trim panel holes 136 that are defined on the trim panel128. Thereafter, fasteners are inserted through the aligned holes 34,136 to affix the trim panel 128 onto the enclosure 12.

The door 134 is connected to the trim panel 128 with a plurality ofhinges 138 located along the left edge 140 of the door aperture 130 andis repositionable relative thereto between open (FIG. 1) and closed(FIG. 21) positions. The door 134 secures the enclosure 12 via alockable access latch 142 installed thereon, which will be described ingreater detail below. A latch aperture 144 is provided on the door 134,through which the latch 142 may be mounted to provide a lockingmechanism for the load center 10. A plurality of circuit breakerknockouts 146 are defined on the recessed portion 132 to provide aconvenient method of creating knockout openings thereon for accessingthe installed circuit breakers 18.

Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, the latch 142 is a three-part structure,which includes a handle 148, a spring 150, and a lock 152 integrallyformed from the door 134 of the cover assembly 16. A latch recess 154 isdefined on a handle top member 156 such that user's fingers could beinserted thereinto to slide the latch 142 to open/close the door 134. Ahandle body member 158 is integrally formed from a bottom surface 160 ofthe handle top member 156 and extends outwardly therefrom with an angle.A plurality of projections 162 are integrally formed and extendoutwardly from top and bottom portions of each opposing side of thehandle body member 158, thereby creating a latch slot between the handletop member 156 and each of the plurality of latch projections 162.

The spring 150 includes a tongue 164 and a spring body member 168. Thetongue 164 is generally u-shaped and acts as a biasing means. The tongue164 has a free end 166 and a connected end 167 that is integrallyconnected to the spring body member 168. The lock 152 includes a hook170 and a lock body member 172.

To connect the spring 150, lock 152, and handle 148, a latch connector174 is integrally formed from the bottom surface 160 of the handle topmember 156 and extends outwardly therefrom. The latch connector 174 isconfigured such that the spring 150 and the lock 152 can be tightlyengaged therewith. Specifically, the spring body member 168 and the lockbody member 172 define a spring aperture 176 and a lock aperture 178,respectively, through which the latch connector 174 can be tightlyinserted and connect with both the spring 150 and the lock 152, asillustrated in FIG. 22.

When the door is in the closed position, as illustrated in FIG. 21, thehook 170 aligns with a hook hole 180 defined in the trim panel 128 (asshown in FIG. 20) such that the hook 170 is inserted thereinto andengages with the trim panel 128 to keep the door 134 closed. Inaddition, the free end 166 of the spring 150 of the latch 142 pressesagainst a top flange 182 integrally formed on the lock body member 172,and each of edges of the latch aperture 144 is placed within eachcorresponding latch slot 164. To open the door 134, the user insertshis/her fingers into the latch recess 154 and slides the latch 142 underspring pressure to allow the door 134 to be opened. Specifically, as thelatch 142 is pressed and slid, the hook 170 is disengaged with the hookhole 180 and passes therethrough, thereby allowing the latch 142 to moveupwardly.

The latch 142 is dimensioned to be closely engaged within the latchaperture 144. The hook 170 is dimensioned to be closely engaged with thehook hole 180 to provide a locking mechanism for the door 134.

The latch 142 is made of one or more materials having suitableproperties for a desired application, including strength, weight,rigidity, etc. Steel is generally preferred for the spring 150 and thelock 152 of the latch 142. Plastic is generally preferred for the handle148 of the latch 142.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that an electrical loadcenter according to the present invention includes improved interiorcomponents, while providing electrical circuit control and overcurrentprotection.

In general, the foregoing description is provided for exemplary andillustrative purposes; the present invention is not necessarily limitedthereto. Rather, those skilled in the art will appreciate thatadditional modifications, as well as adaptations for particularcircumstances, will fall within the scope of the invention as hereinshown and described and of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric load center comprising: an enclosurehaving an open front; a cover assembly configured to be installed overthe open front of the enclosure; and a panelboard adapted to beinstalled within the enclosure, the panelboard including: an insulatedbase; and first and second bus bars, each of the first and second busbars having an elongated main member, a plurality of connecting members,each of which is integrally formed from an edge of the main member witha continuous wedge shape without any recess or cutouts, and a pluralityof conducting members integrally formed from a bottom edge of each ofthe connecting members, wherein the plurality of conducting members ofthe bus bars are configured such that they allow a circuit breaker to bemechanically plugged onto or pulled off from the bus bars by movement inone linear axial direction substantially perpendicular to a base of thepanelboard.
 2. The electric load center of claim 1, wherein thepanelboard further includes at least one neutral bar having a generallyvertical main body, and transverse upper and lower members integrallyconnected and separated by the main body, and wherein the transverseupper member has an outward taper from a top surface of the transverseupper member to a bottom surface of the transverse upper member.
 3. Theelectric load center of claim 2, wherein the transverse upper member isthicker than the transverse lower member.
 4. The electric load center ofclaim 2, wherein the circuit breaker is mounted onto the panelboard bypushing opposing sides of the circuit breaker simultaneously, causing aconnector of the circuit breaker to engage with the bus bar and aneutral clip of the circuit breaker to engage with the taperedtransverse upper member of the neutral bar.
 5. The electric load centerof claim 2, wherein the circuit breaker is separated from the panelboardby pulling the circuit breaker from opposing sides simultaneously,causing the circuit breaker to disengage from the bus bar and theneutral bar.
 6. The electric load center of claim 2, wherein thetransverse upper member is configured to provide a contact area forengagement of the neutral bar with a neutral clip of the circuit breakerto enhance current carrying capacity.
 7. The electric load center ofclaim 2, wherein the transverse upper and lower members aresubstantially perpendicular to the main body of the neutral bar.
 8. Abus bar configured to be mounted on a panelboard of an electrical loadcenter, the bus bar comprising: an elongated main member extendingbetween opposed first and second ends; a plurality of connectingmembers, each of the plurality of connecting members integrally formedfrom an edge of the main member and includes a continuous wedge shapewithout any recesses or cutouts; and a plurality of conducting membersextending upwardly from a bottom edge of each of the plurality ofconnecting members, wherein each of the plurality of conducting membersis integrally connected to the main member via a connecting portion,which is deformed and stretched when the conducting members are formedby bending.
 9. The bus bar of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofconnecting members extend laterally from the edge of the main member.10. The bus bar of claim 8, wherein the plurality of connecting membersare uniformly spaced apart at a predetermined interval across an entirelength of the main member.
 11. The bus bar of claim 8, wherein each ofthe plurality of conducting members is substantially perpendicular tothe corresponding connecting member and a top surface of the mainmember.
 12. The bus bar of claim 8, wherein the connecting portionoptimizes a cross-section between the conducting member and the mainmember, thereby increasing current carrying capacity during anengagement with a circuit breaker.
 13. The bus bar of claim 8, whereinthe connecting portion prevents electrical creepage betweencurrent-carrying parts and also prevents heat generated from the busbar.
 14. The bus bar of claim 8, wherein the continuous wedge shapewithout any recesses or cutouts of each of the plurality of connectingmembers optimizes current flow and prevents overheating and potentialfailure of the bus bar.